Overland Park, KS, Sunday Afternoon (Late July)

[vanillajello]

It was the last day of July, and a sunny Sunday afternoon in Overland Park. Tara had wanted to throw a party in the Gregsons' backyard for the end of summer and the return of her daughter and every good thing she could think of, and so it had come to pass. There was food, and people (some neighbors, some friends from a little further off, and Bod who'd already shown up last night), and a karaoke machine set up under the arch that had been prettying up the back yard ever since Charmaine had failed to get married, earlier in the year.

Everything was pretty perfect. All that was missing was the hostess, though, because no one actually knew where Tara was, but... They were sadly used to that. So, Max was grilling, Charmaine and her belly were off to the side having a Diet Coke she shouldn't have been drinking, Ted was mingling with some people, and Lionel was filming Kate and Marshall.

And the aforementioned Gregson siblings? Were singing their hearts out, doing an enthusiastic karaoke version of Mmmbop. They looked to be enjoying themselves.

It was looking to be a good day on Oak Avenue.

[ooc: NFB, and for the boooy up there in the narrative, and myself in various guises. Bits and pieces taken from United States of Tara S03E01, '...youwillnotwin...'.]

Comments

[vanillajello]

"Won't be for too long, anymore." And thank fuck for that. Kate may have been a little lacking in empathy when it came to that, even if she helped out. "Shall we go say hi to Mom?"

[therewaslife]

"All right," Bod replied, nodding. Perhaps not being all over her daughter would make this conversation a little less awkward than previous ones. "Let's go say hello."

[vanillajello]

No, he wasn't going to be all over her, but she was going to keep her arm around his shoulders because... She just wanted to, so there.

"Look, there come the lovebirds," Charmaine said as they approached her and Tara. She couldn't help it, poking fun at people was about the only entertainment she had right now.

[therewaslife]

"Hullo, ma'am," Bod said, nodding at Charmaine before turning towards Kate's mother. "Mrs. Gregson. Thank you for letting me attend your party. I hope you're both enjoying yourselves."

Yes, he was always going to be proper and polite. He couldn't help it.

[thegregsons.livejournal.com]

And this once, Kate was going to look on and smile and approve of what gentleman he was.

Tara approved, too, though she waved a hand at the formality. "Tara, please," she said. "But thank you, Bod. We're very glad to have you, you're practically family."

[therewaslife]

Bod actually didn't know if he was going to be able to use her first name despite her assurances that it was all right. He'd just been raised by old, old ghosts who were all about the etiquette.

"I'll do my best to remember that," he promised, nodding. "Did you need any help with anything? It seems that everything's in hand but I wanted to offer in case."

[thegregsons.livejournal.com]

"No, I think everything's done," Tara said, glancing around. "But thanks."

"Mama," Kate chimed in, raising her cup. "Uh, Marshall wants to know if you guys are gonna sing a song."

Too bad the cup raise caught her mother's interest more than the question. "Are you drinking beer?"

[therewaslife]

Yes, Bod was just going to stay quiet on that one and let Kate answer. It was her own fault for drinking alcohol in front of her mother. He wasn't disappointed or anything like that.

No, he was amused that she'd been caught red handed.

[vanillajello]

Kate was playing it cool, though. "Yeah," she said, taking another sip and smirking at her mother. "But you can't do anything about it because I don't live under your roof no more."

That was about when Charmaine reached out and took the cup from her. "But you live under mine," she said, "so not until you're twenty-one."

Of course, she raised the cup in a way that obscured half her face from Tara and thus blocked her sister's view of the wink she gave to her niece. And said niece shrugged her shoulder, then nudged Bod to signal they were wandering off now.

[therewaslife]

"It was a pleasure to chat with you both," Bod said, waving before getting his feet moving away from the two Gregson sisters. He kept his arm around Kate's waist as he moved so she'd be coming with him.

[vanillajello]

She had absolutely no intention of parting ways with him, he could rest assured. She even managed a quick nuzzle against his shoulder as they moved. "I like not living at home."

[therewaslife]

Laughing, Bod let her lead them once they'd wandered away from Tara and Charmaine. He glanced down warmly at her and smiled.

"I couldn't tell that at all," he joked. "You and your aunt seem to coexist quite well."

[vanillajello]

"We have our system," she shrugged, leading them to the snack table so she could pick out a few nice things to eat. "It works, amazingly."

Maybe because they were freakishly similar in some respects, but she didn't like thinking about that too much.

[therewaslife]

"I hope that holds out once she has her baby," Bod said, using his free hand to pick up a few small things to pop into his mouth. "If you ever need to get away, you know who to call. Or text message."

[vanillajello]

"Mitchell?" Kate joked. "Jack? Ooh, and Bobby gave me a business card for his old school, too!"

She didn't often make it known, but damn it felt nice to feel like she had friends and places to run off to.

[therewaslife]

"Or your boyfriend," Bod laughed, shaking his head. "You can call me to if you can manage to remember that when the time comes. I'll understand if Jack or Mitchell comes first."

[vanillajello]

"They won't," she assured him with a smile. "Or, Mitchell might if the occasion calls for it, for which I'm sorry."

[therewaslife]

"Don't apologize," he told her, reaching to kiss her forehead. "I understand why he might be the first person you call. If that happens, just be careful."

Mitchell and trouble tended to go hand in hand.

[vanillajello]

And far too often, Kate was metaphorically holding his other hand. It was just how it worked.

"Of course," she murmured. "Don't worry, I'm not looking to get into any Mitchell-worthy trouble out here."

[therewaslife]

"Good," he said, giving her another smile. "You deserve a few at least a few weeks of downtime before anything decides it wants to happen. You deserve more parties and more nights spent with your family."

[vanillajello]

"Or next door to them, anyway," she remarked. "Tucked away in our little room."

[therewaslife]

"It's my favorite room," he replied, nodding. "Did your parents ask about your ring after I left last week?"

[vanillajello]

"Not really," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, Mom wanted make sure we haven't, like, secretly gotten married or anything, but Dad hasn't said anything."

[therewaslife]

"I'd be afraid to visit if we'd secretly gotten married," he said, laughing a bit. "But, that's good. After your mum saw my ring and didn't really get a chance to ask, I was slightly nervous."

[vanillajello]

"Everything's absolutely fine," Kate chuckled. "I mean, they just think it's a --"

"Hellooo, young'uns!" Yes, that was Ted cutting her off by ambling over. Cheerfully. "Everything going well?"

"Yes, Ted," Kate replied with a patient smile. "Hi."